Costa Mesa Taxpayers Assn. to host city charter discussion

COSTA MESA — City CEO Tom Hatch, Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer and Councilman Steve Mensinger will join a panel discussion hosted by the Costa Mesa Taxpayers Assn. on a proposed city charter hosted Thursday at the Neighborhood Community Center.

The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the center, 1845 Park Ave., next to Lions Park, and is open to the public.

Oceanside City Councilman Jerome Kern, a proponent the city charter model, will also speak. Oceanside recently became a charter city.

The Taxpayers Assn. is led by Planning Commissioner Colin McCarthy and stresses fiscal conservatism. The public is expected to get a chance to ask questions about what a city charter is and how it would change the city's governance.

Righeimer and the council majority are urging for the city to switch over to a city charter, or city constitution, and are seeking to put it on the June primary ballot.